The trend estimate for inventories increased 0.9% in the September quarter 2005, after an increase of 1.0% in the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 0.3% following a 1.3% rise last quarter.

The trend estimate for Manufacturing sales of goods and services increased 0.5% after a 0.4% rise in the previous quarter. In seasonally adjusted terms Manufacturing sales were relatively flat this quarter. Wholesale trade's sales of goods and services rose 0.7% in trend terms this quarter after an increase of 0.9% in the June quarter. In seasonally adjusted terms Wholesale sales decreased 0.7% this quarter.

CURRENT PRICE ESTIMATES

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits increased 5.5% this quarter. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 3.9% after an increase of 11.6% in the previous quarter.

Growth in the trend estimate for wages and salaries this quarter is 1.8%, slightly lower than the previous two quarters. Seasonally adjusted the estimate increased 2.2%.

NOTES

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

As happens each year, a seasonal re-analysis has been undertaken based on estimates up to and including the June quarter 2005. No significant changes have occurred this re-analysis, resulting in only minor revisions to the seasonally adjusted estimates.

Improvements have been made to the calculation of chain volume measures of the income from sales of goods and services for three industries (Manufacturing, Retail trade and Accommodation, cafes and restaurants). Revisions to these series go back several years.

COMPARISON BETWEEN COMPANY GROSS OPERATING PROFITS AND GROSS OPERATING SURPLUS

Price changes have had a significant impact on the value of inventories held by Australian businesses this quarter. An inventories valuation adjustment (IVA) is applied in the calculation of the gross operating surplus of private non-financial corporations (GOS) estimate in the Australian National Accounts. As prices for inventories have risen in the September quarter, growth in GOS will be lower after the application of the IVA. The IVA for the September quarter is $1244m which is $308m higher than June quarter IVA of $936m. No adjustment is made to the company gross operating profits (CGOP) estimate in this publication and, as a result, users should exercise caution when comparing the two series. It should also be noted that there are other differences between the two series. In particular, changes are made to GOS when annual benchmarks are applied and slightly different seasonal factors apply to the two series. Given this, while CGOP movements are an appropriate indicator for GOS, it is not the case that the two series will have equivalent seasonally adjusted movements from quarter to quarter.

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Fiona Cotsell on Sydney (02) 9268 4241.

ANALYSIS BY INDUSTRY

FEATURED SERIES

The following graphs and commentary refer to seasonally adjusted and trend estimates of: sales of goods and services ('Sales') and inventories ('Inv.') in volume terms; and wages and salaries ('Wages') and company gross operating profits ('CGOP') in current price terms.

TOTAL ALL INDUSTRIES

The trend estimate of company gross operating profits increased 6% this quarter with the growth rate increasing over each of the past three quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 4% after a strong increase of 12% in the previous quarter. The wages and salaries trend and seasonally adjusted estimate increased 2% this quarter, continuing the steady growth of previous quarters.

The trend estimate for total inventories increased 1% this quarter, similar to the previous two quarters. Retail and Wholesale were the main contributors to the increase this quarter. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased slightly.

MINING

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits increased 13% this quarter, the sixth consecutive quarter where growth has been over 9%. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 7% after a rise of 30% in the previous quarter. The trend estimate for wages and salaries increased 3% this quarter with the growth rate falling slightly compared to the previous four quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 1%.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services decreased 2% this quarter, the first decrease in five quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate decreased by 6% this quarter after a fall of 2% in the previous quarter. The trend estimate for inventories decreased 1% this quarter after two small increases in the past two quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate for inventories decreased 5%.

MANUFACTURING

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits increased 2% this quarter after four quarters of subdued or negative growth. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 4%. The wages and salaries trend and seasonally adjusted estimate increased 1% this quarter.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services has increased slightly over the past three quarters, following three quarters of small decreases. The seasonally adjusted estimate has remained relatively flat this quarter. The trend estimate for inventories remained relatively unchanged this quarter, similar to the previous two quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 1%.

CONSTRUCTION

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits increased 5% this quarter, the second consecutive increase since two small decreases. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 23%. The trend estimate for wages and salaries increased 4% after increasing steadily over the past three quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 2%.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services increased 2%, the third consecutive quarterly increase following six quarters of small decreases. In seasonally adjusted terms the estimate increased 5%.

WHOLESALE TRADE

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits increased 2% this quarter. The seasonally adjusted estimate was relatively flat this quarter following a strong increase last quarter. The trend estimate for wages and salaries has increased 2%, which is a similar rate to the previous three quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 3% this quarter.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services has increased 1%, a similar growth rate to the previous two quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate decreased slightly. The trend estimate for inventories increased 1%, the fifth quarter of similar growth. The seasonally adjusted estimate decreased marginally this quarter.

RETAIL TRADE

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits increased 10% this quarter, the second quarter of strong growth following three quarters of decreases. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 17%. The trend estimate for wages and salaries increased 1% this quarter, the fourth consecutive quarter of similar growth. The seasonally adjusted estimate increased 3%.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services was the tenth consecutive quarter of growth between 1% and 2%. In seasonally adjusted terms the estimate fell slightly. The trend estimate for inventories increased 2% this quarter following five quarters of similar growth. Seasonally adjusted inventories increased 1%.

TRANSPORT AND STORAGE

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits decreased slightly this quarter, the first quarter of negative growth after nine quarters of increases. The seasonally adjusted estimate decreased 9% this quarter. The trend estimate for wages and salaries increased 1% this quarter the sixth consecutive quarter of steady growth. The seasonally adjusted estimate was relatively flat.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services was relatively unchanged this quarter, the fifth quarter of growth of 1% or less. The seasonally adjusted estimate decreased 1% this quarter.

PROPERTY AND BUSINESS SERVICES

The trend estimate for company gross operating profits decreased slightly this quarter, the fifth consecutive quarter of negative growth. The seasonally adjusted estimate decreased 3% this quarter. The trend estimate for wages and salaries has increased steadily over the past eleven quarters. In seasonally adjusted terms the estimate has increased 2% this quarter.

The trend estimate for sales of goods and services has remained relatively flat over the past seven quarters. The seasonally adjusted estimate has decreased 1% this quarter.